Lactase deficiency in the South African Black population

Segal, Idit; Gagjee, P.; Essop, Ahmed; Noormohamed, A M

doi:10.1093/ajcn/38.6.901

Cited by 28 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The Fulanis, mainly cattle rearers, who lived in the north were milk users and were found to be lactose absorbers in contrast to the Yorubas in southern Nigeria who lived in a nonmilking zone and were predominantly lactose intolerant. The prevalence of lactose intolerance has been estimated at 52% for the Fulani, 85.9% for the Yoruba and Ibo, and 76% for the Hausa in Nigeria [69, 70]. Majority of South African blacks are lactose intolerant irrespective of tribe of origin, and this is attributed to origination and migration of South African blacks from the west and central African zone of nonmilking [70].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colorectal Carcinoma: Why Is There a Lower Incidence in Nigerians When Compared to Caucasians?

Irabor

2011

Journal of Cancer Epidemiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Carcinoma of the colon and rectum is the 2nd commonest cancer in the United States; the leading cancer being lung cancer. It has been estimated that 130,200 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed annually while 56,300 sufferers will die from the disease (Murphy et al., 2000). In developing countries especially West Africa, the rate has not yet reached such magnitude. This suggests that there may be factors either anthropomorphic or environmental which may be responsible for this. The paper acknowledges the reduced incidence of colorectal cancer in native West Africans living in Africa and endeavours to highlight the various factors that produce this observation in medical literature. A diligent search through available literature on the aetiology, epidemiology and comparative anthropology of colorectal cancer was done. Internet search using Pubmed, British library online and Google scholar was also utilized. The rarity of adenomatous polyposis syndromes in the native West African contributes to the reduced incidence of colorectal cancer. Cancer prevention and cancer-protective factors are deemed to lie in the starchy, high-fiber, spicy, peppery foodstuff low in animal protein which many West African nations consume.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colorectal Carcinoma: Why Is There a Lower Incidence in Nigerians When Compared to Caucasians?

Irabor

2011

Journal of Cancer Epidemiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Individuals who are unable to digest lactose have what is called the "lactase nonpersistent" (LNP) trait. Although the LNP trait was once considered to be pathologic, it is now well understood that this trait is "ancestral" (i.e., all ancestors of modern humans had this condition) and widespread among human populations (Auricchio et al 1963;Newcomer et al 1983;Segal et al 1983). Individuals with the "lactase persistent" (LP) trait continue to have high levels of lactase production into adulthood.…”

Section: Lactase Persistencementioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Variation and Adaptation in Africa: Implications for Human Evolution and Disease

Gomez

Hirbo

Tishkoff

2014

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology

103

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Because modern humans originated in Africa and have adapted to diverse environments, African populations have high levels of genetic and phenotypic diversity. Thus, genomic studies of diverse African ethnic groups are essential for understanding human evolutionary history and how this leads to differential disease risk in all humans. Comparative studies of genetic diversity within and between African ethnic groups creates an opportunity to reconstruct some of the earliest events in human population history and are useful for identifying patterns of genetic variation that have been influenced by recent natural selection. Here we describe what is currently known about genetic variation and evolutionary history of diverse African ethnic groups. We also describe examples of recent natural selection in African genomes and how these data are informative for understanding the frequency of many genetic traits, including those that cause disease susceptibility in African populations and populations of recent African descent.

show abstract

“…For example, Sudanese Beja had 17% (Bayoumi et al, 1982) and Zaire Tutsi 10% malabsorbers (Cox and Elliott, 19741, while Maasai had 62% (Jackson and Latham, 1979) and Dinka had 75% malabsorbers (Bayoumi et al, 1982). Most non-pastoralist, Bantuderived agricultural populations have high prevalences of lactose malabsorption at levels greater than 80% or 90% (Cook and Kajubi, 1966;Jackson and Latham, 1978;Kretchmer et al, 1971), despite the fact that some Bantu populations practice dairy pastoralism (Segal et al, 1983). Table 2 provides a list of populations and their prevalences of lactose malabsorption.…”

Section: Diet and Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human biology of African pastoralists

Little

1989

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pastoralism in Africa is a subsistence tradition that has a long and complex history. During the course of several thousand years of nomadic and semi-nomadic herding practices, pastoral populations have successfully exploited African savannas and rangelands by maintaining highly mobile and low-density human populations and by maintaining symbiotic relationships between the people and their livestock. This review will cover the pastoralists' adaptations to their environments and the measures of health and adaptability of pastoralists within a biobehavioral framework. The measures that are considered are: diet and nutrition; infant, child, and adolescent growth; adult size and body composition; activity and physical fitness; reproduction; and disease. Several integrated issues (seasonal hunger, drought, sedentarization) are discussed as important areas for current and continued research. Monod, 1975; Weissleder, 1978). These population numbers, however, are declining because pastoralists' vast territories are dwindling as the result of expanding non-pastoral populations, ranching schemes, and attempts by national governments to sedentarize or settle the nomad. As pastoral populations decline and disappear, we will lose a significant amount of the cultural and biological diversity that enriches our species. The purpose of this review is to document some of the known biobehavioral diversity of existing pastoral populations while these populations still retain some of their traditional culture and subsistence. At the same time this will be done within the context of several major problems that pastoralists face in maintaining this pattern of subsistence. AFRICAN PASTORALISTS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTTropical savanna ecosystems and grazing lands Throughout the world, pastoralists are distributed across lands in which a large proportion of the plant community is constituted of grasses, forbs, and shrubs. In the tropics, these grazing lands are identified as savanna. Situated between the moist, tropical forest and the arid and semi-arid desert zone, savanna lands cover as much as one quarter of the world's surface. Compared with other biomes, savanna lands have a pattern of plant productivity in which most of the biomass is available to fauna at higher trophic levels. Hence, savanna lands are often occupied by large populations of grazing and browsing mammals.

show abstract

Lactase deficiency in the South African Black population

Cited by 28 publications

References 13 publications

Colorectal Carcinoma: Why Is There a Lower Incidence in Nigerians When Compared to Caucasians?

Colorectal Carcinoma: Why Is There a Lower Incidence in Nigerians When Compared to Caucasians?

Genetic Variation and Adaptation in Africa: Implications for Human Evolution and Disease

Human biology of African pastoralists

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About